


New Beginning

by EzzyShian32



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Depression, Developing Relationship, Drama, Eventual smut (probably), Fluff, Funny or Lame(?), I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Bad At Titles, Is This Comedy?, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added (probably)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-05-16 14:54:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19320433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EzzyShian32/pseuds/EzzyShian32
Summary: A story about the guardians post Endgame. Thor was still depressed, Quill was really confused and desperate about finding Gamora, Rocket was kind of quite lately, Groot was still the teenage Groot, Drax was doing his stuff, Mantis was really worried as she is aware of the guardians' situation, and Nebula was being passive but getting a bit softer. She was also worried just like Mantis. They were still recovering after their respective lost. The dusted ones were adapting to future changes while the one who weren’t are also adapting, though more on them adapting to the dusted ones. This is might be their first step and this (i guess) would also be a huge first step for both Thor and Quill, but of course, it won’t be a smooth sailing.





	1. A Wake Up Call

**Author's Note:**

> Major plot are revolving around ThorQuill yet i wanted to write all of them so here some story about the guardians post Endgame.
> 
> If there are any english errors here and there, I’m so sorry. English is not my first language. This is also my first work at this site so i'm sorry if this is a bit messy xd
> 
> Btw, Thank you for your understandings!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> two weeks after their departure from Earth, Everyone was still healing, yet there was no sign of recovery. Nebula who just fed up of this stood up and gave everyone a wake up call

The Benatar was flying through the cosmos to their next destination, which was Xandar, yet it was gonna be their first time after the battle of earth. They were all aware that the universe was recovering. They had been in space for around 2 weeks. Nothing was really changed as their supplies were still plenty. Earth sure supplied them good. From food to clothes, even something that wasn’t that important like latest mp3 player that Quill got, although the musics were still around 80’s to early 2000’s. 

This last 2 weeks, everyone did their own thing, pretty much... except they knew that something was off. Something that kind of teared them apart for some reason. Some thought that it might be Gamora and they were working on it. Quill being the most enthusiastic about finding her had worked on it since the moment they left Earth. Gathering all sorts of information about her and her association with Soul stone, Vormir, all these information was gathered, though they wouldn’t go to Vormir yet because they knew that there was other Gamora. They were looking for her first and for the last 2 weeks, obviously they didn’t find any information that was relevant to her whereabouts. So they were going to Xandar instead while also gathering more information at some near planets. 

This situation alone already made the guardians a bit more apart than usual. It was still not counting other factors as well. Quill’s obsession over Gamora was like no other, Thor still felt like he responsible for everything that happened 5 years ago and was still chugging any kind of liquor he could drink, Rocket seemed more quite than usual, Drax and Groot probably was the most normal than the other. They didn’t change that much. Mantis seemed a bit more... motherly. Along with Nebula who was also friendlier than usual, trying to keep everyone together. 

Day after day, these past 2 weeks, that was what happened in this ship. A short time, it seemed, but for them, it felt like forever. The first who realized this was of course Nebula. She just couldn’t handle this for a long time. The guardians had to move on!  
“okay, i’m sick of this.” Nebula complaining as she was done with cleaning stuffs in the cargo.

Mantis who was with her replied “but Nebula, you know that they need more time right?”

Nebula who was relentlessly walking to the cockpit stopped for a moment, proceeds to answer Mantis “I guess they already got their time and they have wasted it”. As she pointed to the noises up there.

Nebula continues to go to the cockpit, leaving Mantis behind who was sighing, worrying what would she said to the other.

As soon as she arrived, she immediately punched the wall near the entrance, shocking everyone who god knows what were they doing. The room was just so messy because yeah, they didn’t clean it up yet and it got worse with what they were doing just then. The room smelled like beer and rotten snacks bits. Empty bottles of beer was lying all over the place, along with some broken ones and no one seemed to bother clean it up. Rocket immediately sit back on his seat, Quill was now staring to Nebula along with Thor who was so startled by her sudden presence, still holding his beer, Drax in the corner just stayed silent while Groot was immediately leaving the room.

“Groot, I also want to talk to you” she said it coldly

Groot that formerly just walked with his game then sit back and paid attention to whatever Nebula had to say.

Quill who got his grip again finally spoke “Uh... Nebula, i can explain-“

“You know you can, Peter”. Nebula cut Quill’s sentence. “and i know i had enough”.

“of course you have, you know what happened to us lately, right?!” Rocket interrupted the conversation. Nebula surprisingly went silent for a moment. “I’ll take that as yes and yeah, i also had enough of this depressing bullshit!” Rocket for once spoke after days of being quite. Exclaiming his thoughts to everyone that yes, their condition was getting worse and worse. 

Thor finally spoke up “You know what, rabbit? I agree with you” 

After that Thor proceeded to finish one more whole bottle of beer. Everyone in the room saw Thor’s throat moving, gulping every single drop of the beer. After that, he looked like he wanted to throw the bottle for a moment, but he put it on the floor instead and proceeded to speak again 

“We should move on for what happened back then” Thor was now walking to Nebula’s position “We know that everything is already fixed, we’ve restored what Thanos had done and now we only need to just prepare for what will happen next, right Nebula?”  
Thor put his hand on her shoulder sort of putting that they knew each other’s burden. “especially you, me and the rabbit over there.” “Hey, don’t call me that, okay?! I had enough of these nicknames” Thor who formerly looked to Rocket then proceeded to look to Nebula again, smiling like wanting some sort of agreement.

Nebula wasn’t quite agree with Thor here. She brushed Thor’s hand aside and then she said “I know we were doing the mission together back then, but we are not the same. You are still like you were back then. A pathetic, alcoholic fat guy who is supposed to be a god that mourns over his lost with more beer than actually facing it”

Thor stood there annoyed, tried to make some sort of come back, but Nebula added “and you know what? I think everyone agrees on me in this one. You also seems very self-centered, like everyone will like you if you behave this way and if i may add more, even I certainly certain that Quill IS the captain and not you”

After that bomb, Thor just stood there, not moving, looking down like contemplating Nebula’s opinion about him, but Nebula didn’t stop there. “Also Peter-“ The captain of the ship immediately looked at her. “We know that you are very concerned about my sister, but sometimes you just overdo it and make everyone anxious and i know you are also very anxious and i know that in fact you are the most anxious person when talking about her, but it is just too much at this point. You need to know about everyone too”

Quill actually wanted to speak up for a moment, but he thought about it beforehand. Now He lost for words. Not questioning, complaining, even joking about her statement. It was all true. He then went to the back of the ship without saying anything. He even forgot his Zune that was lying on the floor. Thor picked it up, though.

“Drax and Groot” now the two was paying attention even more. “you two need to realize that you are all too passive” 

Drax who was kind of displeased whispered “but i am not passive. I am active as i always be...” Groot also whispered “I am Groot” 

Nebula continued “Especially you, Groot” Groot was getting more startled “I am Groot?!” Nebula followed “yes, because you just stick to your device for like everytime. You need at least socializing with people” Groot who didn’t like her statement said “I am Groot!” 

Rocket who was silent for a while suddenly interrupting while steering the ship “She has a point” After that, Groot also went silent, not complaining anymore. Instead, he went to his room, now for real with no interruption from Nebula. 

Mantis who just finished cleaning was now arrived in the cockpit. Complete silence was what she received. Worried, she asked Nebula who happened to be just a step away from her. “Nebula, what did you do?” Nebula went quite, she proceeded to go to her room, but she stopped at the moment she was by passing Mantis, she whispered “some sort of wake up call for all of them” Mantis seemed to understand Nebula’s intent, yet “You need to be worried less and act more. They need it more than they know” 

Nebula then went to her room. Mantis who just grasped what Nebula said, turned around just to see Nebula was already closing her room. Instead of upset, Mantis was happier than usual. What Nebula had said to her was a wake up call for her and some kind of trustful statement that she was actually needed in order to make the guardians be their usual selves.

But then, the reeks of alcohol reached her nose, making her holding her breath and asked everyone as politely as possible “Hey, would you all be nice and clean this room up? For your own sake”  
No one responded to her, except for Drax. “I can help” Drax said as he reached some bottles and empty bags of chips then put it in some sort of container.

Mantis who got a broom swept the floor to collect more and more broken glasses, dusts, and broken chips in the room. Thor was still standing, staring at dirty floor. Mantis who concerned about Thor spoke to him “Thor, would you step out the room? i need to clean the floor”.

Thor snapped out from his ‘daydream’ then responded “Oh yeah, sure”.  
As he walked out, he stopped and turned to Mantis, asking “Is there anything i can do?” 

Mantis who was sweeping diligently stopped for a moment, responded to the big guy who looked like he needed to do something. Very obvious to her as she could read people’s emotions and already familiar with their expressions and actions. She asked “you can put those stuffs to the dump” she pointed to the container which was full of bottles and chip bags. 

“Alright, Mantis” Thor replied then he brought the container to the dump. Drax who was holding trashes on his hand roared “Hey, come back, Thor!” he then ran to the back, looking for Thor while bringing trashes along with him.

Mantis chuckled at that, but she was worried again. There had to be something happened before Nebula snapped. What was it? Why was it so intense back then and why everyone was just so irritated and ended in bad mood? Nebula’s words were for the better, but some seemed... had enough. She probably had no clue for the moment, but she had to know. For the better of this ship. For the guardians, for the familiy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that ended up a bit depressing. I didn’t plan it to be like this, but i like it more than previous attempts (yes i’ve worked for this chapter for some times) And i promise, Thorquill will be there, just wait!
> 
> Also, disclaimer, English is not my first language (yes i just told you again about this) and i am not that good at writing so any criticism will be appreciated and please, don’t expect me to update regularly. I’m bad at scheduling and i’m on vacation so i hope you understand xd
> 
> Btw, Thank you for reading this. I hope you like it!


	2. A Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next day, as everyone seemed doing their own things, Mantis who was still wondering about yesterday’s event went to Thor to talk about it. The conversation ended up in an unexpected subject.

After what happened in the cockpit, everyone seemed more quite than usual. Although, it was kind of expected because of how Nebula’s speech sounded so true and hit on really good points that even Quill who is known as a good debater lost for words. Well, despite of sour moments, no argument sparked on that day. It might be the first time after 2 weeks of nonstop arguments and complains in the ship. It felt so peaceful all of the sudden and everyone realized that. They might be trying to not ruin this moment.

Yet Mantis still curious about what happened before Nebula snapped yesterday. she really wanted to know what happened like how a mother is curious about her kids acting so out of place. 

Mantis thought to herself about who was going to be her target. Her first thought was Drax, but when she saw his whereabouts, he was watching Groot playing game besides her. She didn’t want to bother that moment so she skipped him, including Groot. the very next target was Nebula, but she was just like her, devoid of any idea what was happening. She thought about Quill and Rocket, but she knew that both were the hardest to get info to, especially when they were in a bad mood, like now. 

So, the remaining candidate was Thor. The asgardian might have been there all the time. Even though he was drunk constantly, he was still a nice guy to talk with. At least, that was how Mantis saw the blonde man. when she looked around to find Thor, he just went to the back of the ship. Presumably, to the kitchen. He always looked for beer when he ran out of it so it was a reasonable guess.

‘So it was decided’ she thought ‘Thor is the one’

Mantis who sit at her usual position besides Groot went to the kitchen. She found Thor who was busy looking for something in the fridge and of course, he was looking for a beer and he found it. He then proceeded to open the bottle and drank a good gulp of the beer, savoured every single drop of it. He actually finished the bottle in one gulp. Mantis just stood there, watching Thor finishing his beer. She then greeted the blonde man.

“Hello, Thor. How is the day?” She asked as she approached the sink then washed her hand. (she was doing this because she thought it would make her not so obvious. she was kind of investigating anyway). Thor then responded.

“Good! Nothing seems to explode today which is nice” he then grabbed another beer, this time it was a can. “you know it is a relief when noone is complaining, but i don’t know if it will be like this for the next hours” he added as he chugged the beer in the same manner as before.

“I think you should not drink much. It is bad for you” Mantis suggested. Thor smirked 

“now here you are, ruining the streak” he then sit at one of the chair, staring blankly at the table. 

Mantis who finished washing her hand walked to Thor, took a seat besides him as she patted the asgardian’s back. She knew that the new member of the guardian had a hard time on the ship just like how she was back then. She is relatively new to the team anyway so she knew how the asguardian felt right now.

“You know I am used to be the latest member of this team. I know exactly how you feel. being made fun of, getting yelled at...” 

Thor was surprised at the moment, even getting angry a bit, but Mantis continued. 

“but i know they are like that because that is how they behave” Thor got confused and squinted at Mantis a bit 

“That is not what i meant!” Mantis responded soon as she realized Thor’s expression “i just want to say that Peter, Rocket, Drax, even Groot just like to have fun. They are sarcastic in a way, although Drax is sweeter and Groot is not that mean, but i know that they don’t mean it” she claimed as she glared at Thor, assuring him. 

Thor who was kind of spooked by her... expression proceeded to calm himself down then responded. “well, um... Thank you for your attention. It means a lot” he gulped his saliva like he was getting weirded out. 

Mantis who realized that immediately apologized. “I am sorry, Thor. I-“ Thor immediately responded 

“No, no! It’s not your fault, Mantis”   
“No, of course this is my fault, i made you weirded out. I am sorry”   
“No, I don’t mind. Besides, that is how you behave anyway” 

Thor gave a little smirk. Mantis didn’t respond, she smiled back instead, blushed, seemed like she was fluttered by the blonde's word just now.

After a moment, she snapped back then actually got back on track. “Ok, there is something i want to ask you” Thor heard her then asked “What is it?”

“It is about yesterday...” 

Thor suddenly became pale, Mantis who realized the change on the asgardian asked worriedly 

“What happened?” She then put both of her hand on Thor’s shoulders not changing her own position. “You can tell me everything. I won’t judge you. I just want to know what happened that made all of you like this”.

Mantis had a point. People who didn’t know what happened yesterday was Mantis and Nebula as both of them were at the cargo, though Nebula could care less of what happened as she just had enough. Mantis was different. She was more caring to others. She simply was the morale support for the guardians besides Gamora. Thor knew that and finally he opened up to her. “Ok, I will tell you what happened”

“It was a quite day as usual, but it was not quite like today. It was more of an intense one” Thor recounted the event yesterday with a low almost broken voice, looked down at the table, frowned (like when someone in their bad mood). “We were trying to suspect Gamora’s whereabouts, but it didn’t turn up well” 

Thor stopped for a moment. Then he continued, sadder this time “It was my theory that she was just disappeared, got dusted by the snap Tony does back on Earth” Mantis shocked for a moment.

“I know it is crazy, but the logic is there. We don’t know if current Gamora is on our side, but she is in good terms with Nebula. Other than that, she might still be one of Thanos’ subordinates or that was what Tony thought. We just don’t know” 

Mantis still listened to Thor, trying to understand what happened. That was a good point and the most logical so far, yet a really unfortunate one. Thor continued “Quill didn’t like that and began to shout at me. I just gave him my thoughts and he simply said it was wrong. I agreed with him, though the other seemed to agree with my theory because of how logical it is. Rocket stayed quite though” 

Thor then lied down on the chair, sighed as he finished the retelling “then we got into an argument, shouting, even breaking some bottles, even getting into a fight, but fortunately, Nebula came and the rest was the same as you know”

Thor did his best on recounting what happened yesterday and Mantis finally understood. She then thanked Thor for telling her, though it might not be the best reply, but she tried.

“Thank you for telling me. Now i know why you all are like this” she patted Thor’s back then “I am sorry for Quill. He just love Gamora so much. He just can’t lose anyone anymore.”

That actually caught Thor’s attention.

“Quill loves Gamora?” 

Mantis chuckled at that in disbelieve “Wait, you don’t know?” 

Thor blushed for a moment “yeah, i don’t” 

“I mean it is quite obvious. He acted like that because he cares so much for her. She is so important to him that he is ready to give his life if necessary” 

Thor didn’t know that Gamora is everything for Quill. The asgardian might have forgotten what love is as it had been so long since he was in a relationship or a love from his people. He just lost too many people to remember how it felt to be loved or to love someone.

“Thank you for your company, Thor. It is quite a talk” Mantis patted Thor once more then proceeds to get up from her seat. The asgardian stopped her as he grabbed her hand and pulled her back to her seat. 

“Mantis...” 

Mantis who was still startled of Thor’s action started to stammer 

“Wh- Wha- What is it, Thor! I- I-“ 

Thor then shaked her back and forth, tried to make her steady, as Thor stopped and Mantis stared at Thor, he said “I will make Quill realize that he is not alone” the asgardian said it crystal clear. 

Mantis stopped and paid more attention to Thor, a bit confused “I won’t let him sacrifice his life just to save his loved ones. I won’t let that happen” Mantis was getting more confused of where this was going, yet the asgardian continued “because he already has his family, this is his home...” 

Mantis finally put herself together and responded “Of course, Thor. He knows that alrea-“ 

Mantis’sentence was cut off as Thor continued, but he lowered his voice... almost like whispering 

“...and i love him” 

Mantis didn;t really get that. But as soon as she gets it, she gasped then lost for words. It was shocking like really shocking. She wanted to comment about that, but she looked around for a moment, catching a silhouette at the entrance of the kitchen. It might be one of the others. After a moment, it rushed back to other room. Mantis who panicked pushed the asgardian back and she was about to end the conversation, for real this time. Thor flinched for a second, although he might have been drunk for a while. 

“Okay. Thor. That’s enough and Thank you for accompanying me. We have a good talk together. If you have anything to share or want to have someone to talk to, you can go to me, okay?” 

Thor who snapped back to reality then replied 

“Oh yeah, i will, Mantis. Thank you for the talk too” 

“You are welcome” Mantis responded sweetly

After that, she rushed to the front, leaving the asgardian behind. Thor sit there for a moment, thinking of why Mantis pushed him back. Is it because of his sudden action? Is it because of his confession? It is not for Mantis anyway, but why did she panic so hard? the asgardian didn’t really take it seriously and proceeded to get more beer on the fridge. 

Meanwhile...

Quill who just went from the bathroom, returned to the cockpit with heavy breath, Drax realized Quill’s condition, asking him of his condition “Quill, are you alright?” Starlord didn’t responded at first. He took a deep breath and let a big sigh out. He then responded “It’s nothing. Really.” He said it almost with no breath left from his lungs. Just what the hell is wrong with him now?!

Thor arrived at the cockpit with a bottle of beer in his hand and mouth full of beer. He gulped the beer in his mouth then spoke with a sigh.

“ok, what now?!” 

he was almost angry at the moment. Quill quickly responded with a loud voice 

“Nothing, Thor! I swear!” 

the peace was almost gone, Nebula who was in there was ready to snap everyone back, but Quill then rushed to his room without saying anything. Nebula irritated by this 

“What is wrong with him, now?!” 

Thor who got stared by Nebula replied 

“I don’t know, i just arrived, alright?” 

Nebula looked at Drax 

“I don’t know” Drax replied. 

Nebula stared to Groot 

“I am Groot!” Groot replied with a teenage rage sound in it 

“I am sorry, Groot” 

Nebula then stared at Rocket

“Not even a clue” 

Nebula stopped for a moment

“Where is Mantis?” Thor who had a clue on that replied “She might be in her room. i just talked with her in the kitchen” Nebula rushed to Mantis’ room.

“Well, what great day!” Rocket said in sarcastic way or in irritated one. 

“I know, rabbit. I know” 

“Stop calling me rabbit, Fat Ass or I make that belly explode!” Thor then sit at his usual seat, didn’t care of Rocket’s claim and stared blankly in front of him.

“Well, what a great day indeed” Thor mumbled to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, i didn't think it would take this long to write this chapter... but hey, i made it!
> 
> and yup, everything went wrong again... this is not what i wanted it to be at first, but it ended up like this anyway. Anyway, enjoy the ride!


	3. Lowest point, yet a good one to start over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After what happened that day, no one seemed to bother one another. this continued until they were arrived at Xandar. however, there is something wrong. Rocket and Quill got off the ship, each with their own things to do. Rocket sit on a rock, seemed like contemplating while Quill was wondering and getting further away from the ship. Drax who was curious followed Rocket while Thor followed Quill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, look! I made it! This is my favorite chapter to write so far so i hope you like it.
> 
> And finally, i managed to make it ends in a high note in the end. I also finally managed to make a ThorQuill moments. Everything will be better in later chapters, of course ;) and btw, enjoy the ride!

After that day, no one seemed to bother one another. just normal interactions and some discussions about the informations around Gamora’s whereabouts. other than that, they most likely just did their own stuffs.

Days of quiteness passed and finally... They were arrived at their destination.

“Well, looks like we’ll get lots of things to do” Their captain claimed as they were approaching the planet closer and closer.

“Let’s get things done and get out of this place” Rocket followed, ruined the relieve atmosphere around them

Quill looked unpleased, complained “You know, you are no fun, Raccoon!” 

“Oh, shut up!” Nebula who was also unpleased along with Rocket answered at the same time.

“Yep, this will be a fun ride.” Thor talked to himself sarcastically, responded to the situation.

While they were entering the atmosphere, something seemed wrong. No signal from Xandar. they supposed to give a call upon their arrival. Xandar was known for their force and this seemed odd to the guardians. Especially Quill and Rocket. They were working around Xandar afterall even after they had become what they were. 

Their ship had gone through the clouds, saw the horror of destroyed land on their sight. Thanos’ invasion was no joke and it seemed like no one was left. Although, they didn’t know for sure. Maybe they were just at the other side of Xandar and the remaining survivors were moving to one place. Nevertheless, it sure was a huge blow on the guardians. 

“I guess what i said the first time i saw you guys were true. Xandar is destroyed” Thor claimed while viewing the sight.

“We don’t know for sure” Nebula interrupted then she approached Quill, tried to assure him that it’s not over yet, but Quill knew.

“You know what, Nebula? We need a rest. We’ve been roaming space for quite a while so some fresh air doesn’t seem bad, does it?” Nebula was surprised by the captain’s respond, He continued “also, we can just go to other planet. Maybe they are already healed from the snap”

It is quite assuring, eventhough everyone were still hard to believe it. Xandar is no more... or might be heavily injured. Either way, it was painful to know because of how much of a home Xandar was to them.

They landed on a roughly flat surface. Around them were rocky ones. Some looked like destroyed buildings while the other seemed like remainings from their defenses against Thanos’ invasion. Either way, it was a sad sight.

Quill immediately left the ship. He said that he went to look around. Rocket also left the ship, but he didn’t say anything then sit on a random rock, stared blankly at the ground.

Worried of this view, Mantis asked Thor to follow Quill. Thor accepted the request as he rushed to Quill. He also brought stormbreaker along for something unexpected along the way. Rocket was approached by Drax and Groot. Mantis would like to join, but Nebula held her hand, then she spoke “It is better to let those guys to comfort him”

Mantis who a bit bugged wanted to respond, but immediately cut by Nebula adding her statement “it would be too many people. Besides, Groot is closer to him than i am. I don’t know about Drax, though” Nebula sighed. 

“I think Drax is fine. He is a good friend afterall” she said it with a smile. Well... Her weird smile. 

“I guess you should fix how you smile. It weirded me out” Mantis immediately stopped smiling and seemed a litlle upset.

“Sorry...” Nebula apologized, knowing her words would hurt.

Rocket stared at the ground, might be thinking about all this. All those things he did back on Earth two weeks ago. It didn’t bring back exactly everyone and also didn’t restore any scar Thanos had left. It was like ‘too late’ and he can do nothing about it. Back on Earth, he only knew that their plan was ‘the best case scenario’ and they couldn’t do anything to make it better anymore, but it certainly was not as ‘best’ as he expected. He didn’t know that the damage on Xandar might be permanent. 

He thought about Thor’s words back when they first met. He didn’t believe it, yet he still remained his calm and actually helped Thor back then because of Thor’s situation. it kind of reminded him of his own. He might have suffered a lot and he wanted to help. Well, of course he also wanted to stay away from Thanos because he didn’t want to die. It was not like he was biased and didn’t want Xandar to fall. Not like he truly found Xandar as ‘his home’. This view he was watching is some sort of slap in the face. ‘This is what have happened’ and finally he believed in what Thor said and actually how he felt.

‘so, everything we’ve done on Earth wasn’t enough, huh?’ he sighed and then kicked a stone near him.

It is quite a strong kick as the stone flew and unexpectedly hit Drax, right in the knee.

“Ow!” Drax roared in a little surge of pain in his knee. 

Rocket then woke from his thoughts, looking at Drax who was holding his knee. Groot tried to comfort Drax by putting his vines on Drax’s knee, patting and rubbing it to hopefully ease the pain.

“What are you guys doing here?” Rocket asked in a strangely nice tone. He was not like he used to be known by others. Atleast, to Drax and Groot in the moment. 

“Well, i am worried about you” Drax said after the pain seemed to ease a bit

“I am Groot” Groot followed, like agreeing to Drax’s statement. 

Rocket smiled sincerely which kind of shocked both the tree and the muscular guy.

“It is not like i’m gonna cry or anything. I just-“ then he stopped.

He still filled with thoughts as if like everything was his fault. This might be the first time he felt guilty himself. he was just that upset.

Drax approached the raccoon, kneeling like a knight. Rocket commented

“are you really gonna kneel before me like what’s going on here?”

Drax didn’t respond like he used to. He knelt and stared at the raccoon really deep into his eyes. It was like Drax stared into the raccoon’s soul.

“Ok, now I am extremely weirded out” he commented while also moved away a bit from Drax, indicating his awkwardness. ‘what is he doing?’ Rocket thought

“Here, i do not know how much things you have gone through these couple of years...”

Drax started talking, yet the raccoon seemed to not get into it and got emotional.  
“we know we shouldn’t go to that territory” Rocket dodged the conversation. He really wasn’t enjoying this and he wouldn’t, yet the muscular figure in front of him kept bringing up the subject.

“this is important! for me... for Groot... for the others... and for you!” Drax cleared up his intention, also pointed to each people he just said earlier.

“I am groot...” Groot followed, stood besides the raccoon and patted his back.

“I am groot... i am groot... I am Groot” Groot talked longer this time. Rocket understood what Groot meant and smiled later, responded to the tree’s sentence.

“Thank you so much for that, Groot” Rocket thanked Groot to his somewhat comforting and encouraging words. Drax also followed, patting the other side of the raccoon’s back.

“Remember, we are a family. our home is not here, but there, alongside the others. You do not have to be sad. We will always be here for you and always support you. We will support each other. Just like how we used to be...”

Drax’s father side really shone bright at the moment. Rocket never saw this side of Drax in his entire years going with the guy. He is surprisingly wise and his words touched the raccoon’s heart, almost like Groot’s speech just now.

Rocket is overwhelmed by this kindness, he blushed in the process, holding his emotion.

“Ok! Ok! Thank you, Drax, for your unnecessary speech and now i’m feeling better”

Drax was a bit offended at that and almost complained, but the raccoon added before he could say anything.

“but really, i appreciate it...” Rocket said with a gentler voice. 

Drax lost for words for a brief time until suddenly They got called by Nebula from the ship, asking them to go back. Well, they were only a few meters away from the ship so it’s not much of a problem.

“Ok, let’s go, meat head and you too, Groot!” Rocket said with a big smirk on his face. His spirit had returned, yet...

“I am not a meat head! My head is so hard, it is comparable to that of steel!” Drax complained, but Rocket and Groot didn’t listen and just went back to the ship, ignoring Drax’s complain along the way.

On the other hand, Quill wondered around the ruins, thinking deeply about the situation.

‘is there nothing i can do?’ ‘where have i been?’ ‘i should’ve saved them all’ ‘can we go back in time to fix this?’ ‘why is this happened’

Quill lost in his thoughts, blaming himself in the process like this is all his fault. He shouldn’t surrendered to his own feelings back then. They should’ve stopped Thanos back in Titan. Eventhough the wizard guy told them, in the end, that was the only way, but he just couldn’t believe it. There must be a better way and he screwed it up. 

“Gamora... what should i do?” Quill said in a weak voice, staring into the gray sky.

He slowly knelt in sadness. He just couldn’t handle it. He felt like he wanted to cry. He felt like he was guilty. He lost his mother, his father figure, his girlfriend, and now the supposedly the place they could call ‘home’.

“I am so stupid, i can’t even save people that i love. Even i can’t save myself from the snap... I am no guardians of the galaxy... I am noone” 

Quill mourned in his sadness, tears fell from his eyes, crying on his failures.

A moment after that, a figure came to his position from behind. It seemed like he was in hurry, but slowly lowering his speed, getting closer each step.

Quill realized. ‘It must be Thor’ he thought

The broken man then wiped his tears and regained his composure to finally said something to might be the asgardian.

“What do you want, Thor?” Quill said in a stern voice which caught Thor’s surprise. He didn’t expect to Quill actually know it was him. He wanted to say something a moment after that, yet the redhead added.

“Do you wanna make fun of me now? wanna say that i’m a crybaby? Oh! Maybe you’d claim as the captain now! claiming your victory!” 

Quill really went harsh there, it almost caught the asgardian off guard. Thor almost got himself angry like at least saying ‘what is wrong with you’   
...  
...  
...  
And... maybe gave a really harsh feedback or whatever,   
YET he could keep his cool and answered the terran.

“I have given up on that since days ago. you don’t have to be worried” Thor said as he was approaching the mournful man, sit besides him, yet he was so annoyed by that and drags himself a bit further from the blonde man with a very sour face and tried not to make an eye contact . Thor still kept his cool though.

“I know it’s hard for you... Losing the people you love...” Quill flinched a bit. That sentence really triggered his anger switch, but Thor continued.

“Well, I have experienced it myself and it was horrible” Quill stopped for a moment, but instead of sympathizing back, he got angrier.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about” Quill stopped a moment after said that, he continued with an obvious higher voice. He really was displeased by this.

“I’ve lost my mom, my dad, my actual dad, and my girlfriend! AND I also messed everything back at Titan! I also lose contact about this past Gamora and i potentially can’t find her like ever! And look! Even i can’t save this planet! The very home of our ship!” He paused a second, sucked some good amount of air and continued 

“Do you know how THAT feel?!” 

Quill said as he finally stood up and pointed so hard at the asgardian with a furious glare. After a few seconds, he turned, trying to calm himself down.

Thor couldn’t answer though. It seriously worse than he thought, but he know for sure that he was also going through some harsh times. Quill should at least know this! After a few seconds, the blonde made a comeback, though he was way calmer than Quill, like telling some kind of story.

“well, I also have lost my mother, my father, my sister, my best friends, a lot of my people, and my brother...” Quill calmed for a moment, actually listened to the asgardian this time with a cooler head. Thor still continued.

“And surprise, surprise, i also had a chance to stop Thanos and that was actually killing him for good... and i missed it, letting the snap happen before my eyes...” 

The redhead was really shocked at the moment, like that was a HELL of a chance and the guy he knew were used to be this manliest guy he had ever seen could miss such an opportunity. he finally calmed down and sit back, still trying to not make eye contact. He asked, gentle, yet stern at the same time to the big man a few feet apart besides him.

“How could it happen?”

The asgardian definitely surprised by the sudden change of the atmosphere around them. He tried to keep on track though, not going to make the terran to get upset again. he answered Quill while keeping his cool. He didn’t want to break because of this little talk.

“Well... I was so stupid back then that i thought i had stopped him. I pierced his chest really deep not thinking that he still had enough strength to snap his finger... i was filled with a blinding accomplishment that i didn’t realize i didn’t go for the head and let things happened. I messed up everything”

Quill actually understood that. He finally could connect and relate to this man. he was getting closer and responded to Thor’s story about his failure.

“Well... I also kind of let myself getting angry about losing Gamora that i punched him real hard in the face”

After hearing that, Thor immediately commented with a bit of amusement.

“wait, you did?” 

“yeah i was but i-“ 

Thor then bursted out of laughter. It was a long laugh that Quill was just sitting there waiting for the asgardian to stop. Moments after he stopped, he apologized immediately.

“Oh, i am so sorry. It is just that i hate that purple creature” 

Quill didn’t really accept the apology, though he knew that Thanos basically beat everyone up, but still this was not a laughing matter.

“ok, Thor. but still, it basically destroyed our plan because he was in a hypnosis as we tried to take his gauntlet off” Quill said in a serious tone

After hearing that, Thor stopped giggling and actuallu got why it upset Quill so much. “Oh” is his response as he finally got back to a more serious atmosphere. Quill continued.

“I was also dusted and you know that”  
“oh, you did?”  
“yeah dude, like isn’t it obvious that i didn’t change much? Even Rocket knew”

That really disappointed Quill so much. Is he for real? Either way...

“Alright, enough with this. So, what do you want, Thor?” Quill said as he paid his attention to Thor. It was enough to make the asgardian to blush after a minute. Thor spoke up and tried to sound as genuine as possible.

“oh, basically i wanted to comfort you a bit because of what happened to this... planet...” Thor said as he looked the view in front of him.

“well, fyi, i’m still sad” the redhead said in his sarcastic voice

“hmmm, are you though?” Thor asked, squinted at Quill’s statement. 

“honestly... yeah... i’m pretty sad” The redhead replied.

This bugged the blonde man a bit. So, he asked Quill again, a bit symphathetic this time.

“Ok, why? You know that this was irreversible. It can still be saved, but it won’t be like how it used to”

Quill knew, of course. That was what kept him from his sleeps. It was irreversible and he could not do anything about it or at least what to do first. Thor continued though.

“maybe i can relate to that because that was basically why i am like this” he said as he pointed at himself. Quill who was overwhelmed by these fun facts from Thor could nly concluded that...

“Well, it turns out that you’re like me. How ‘bout that?” Quill said as he gave a smirk to Thor. 

Really, it was weird for the asgardian to see Quill to finally be nice to him. at least, he had finally seen Starlord’s smile. That really got Thor off guard and made himself blushing like crazy. He tried to cover his face and slowly turned around so Quill could not see this. The redhead turned a bit concerned.

“hey, what’s going on?” he asked while trying to turn the big guy around so he could see his face. Basically making a face to face conversation. It failed though.

“Hey, now you’re the one who’s weird. What happened to you? Quill started to get annoyed and he certainly got more curious. Thor then stood up, got some dust off and spoke.

“It’s nothing! Really!”

That response definitely did nothing to Quill’s justice. It just made him more curious, but Thor continued

“Okay, because you feel better now, it is the right time to go back to the ship. Everyone might have waited for us. It is getting dark anyway. ok, i’ll see you in the ship, Quill” Thor said as he hurriedly walked to Benatar.

Quill couldn’t say anymore words to Thor as he was left alone. Well, it was such a quite moment. Only a breezing wind and grey sky with dusts all over the place. It was sad, but he could sense ‘peace’. 

‘i wish everyone felt this’ he thought, referred to the one he loved that had passed. He was closing his eyes, thinking about this peacefulness and trying to clean his mind, accepting his losses and foriving himself.

He tried to move on.

“well, this is refreshing” he said with a relieved tone. He watched the gray sky full of darker grey clouds, he said

“I guess this is the first step, huh?” he said to himself

He then hurriedly ran to the ship, potentially following Thor or even caught him up.

The day was surely the guardian’s lowest point, yet it might be a good one to start over and all of them finally understood and they were ready for anything that would came later...

Or would they?

And hey! Meanwhile...

Now they’ve gone from Xandar and started to wander around space to get to other planet. They made sure it was going to be a more stable (the resources, climate and its people) planet.

In the cockpit, Quill was listening songs from his Zune while also thinking about Thor just then. ‘What happened to that guy?’. That’s what he was thinking all day and then came Mantis who was also worried about the asgardian.

“Quill, what’s wrong with Thor?” Mantis asked Starlord who was busy in his seat with his Zune. He didn’t reply though which brought Mantis to force him for an answer. Well, of course in a gentle manner.

“come on, Quill. Thor acts weirdly lately and he drank a bunch of beer again” 

Drax who was near Thor at the moment and was holding his nose with his hand added.

“yeah! I started to smell his smelly breath and it’s killing me!” he complained. 

“I Am Groot!” Groot added.

Peter who didn’t get enjoyment anymore, took off his Zune then grumpily replied, but the volume was set so it could only be heard by Mantis. Though It was still a grumpy reply 

“here, idk what happened to him, ok. We talked for a moment back in Xandar and there was a point where he started acting weird and i could see his face burning. I asked him what happened, but he said it’s nothing. But i know there’s something wrong with him and it makes me crazy. You get it now?” 

He retold the story as clearly and to the point as possible. He didn’t want to talk too much right now. he was so full in his head he might break again and it won’t be pretty. He then back with his Zune, not caring anymore and lost in his thoughts again. 

Mantis got it and started to be more worried than she had to. she then turned back not to make Quill suspicious of her and back to her position. Nebula still got zero clue what’s happening. She didn’t care that much though. She asked about Quill back in the day to Mantis, but she refused to answer, like she did mean to not talk about it. So she stopped herself from forcing Mantis for answers. 

The one left was Quill who was thinking about this again, digging deeper into his mind which he found and he remembered that he overheard Mantis and Thor talked together in the kitchen while he was in the bathroom. It was quite an interesting talk because it was about Nebula’s speech, but he was more interested in Thor’s statement near the end which he stated that he really cared for the terran. It was a bit weird for him of course, but it got super awkward where the asgardian said he loved Quill...

Upon remembering this, Starlord realized and then hid his embarassment by listening to his Zune more. he definitely blushed really hard yes, the thought never left the terran. 

“well, here we go again...” the raccoon said who realized about the ship’s atmosphere.

“Ok, buckle up, everyone! We’re going to fast travel to this planet that’s like 2 light years. It wouldn’t be a smooth ride so keep your thoughts and problems deeply in your brain and save yourself!” 

Quill immediately snapped back, talked to himself

‘Ok, it’s on!”


End file.
